What fascinates me as much as the engineering is the effort that's put into the filming! Not only are you 'playing with fire ' but you are showing us - with multi camera shots - what's happening! I can appreciate both disciplines (from previous experience) and can only bow in acknowledgement 👏
Never ever give up. Well done, nice video. I have also seen a vacuum setup where the burnt out mould sits over a vacuum plate. Metal is poured into the mould as normal and the vacuum switch on. The vacuum works through the porosity of the investment plaster and atmospheric pressure pushes the metal into the mould. Effectively removing gasses from the cavity. Works pretty well I have heard.
You are a real treasure. Whenever I look up some crazy idea of think of DIYing something again for some casting project it is ALWAYS YOU! I swear you have done it all.
Allthough I know all about Centrifugal forces, and know it cant go anywhere but into the mold. The idea of hot spinning metal scares the crap out of me!!
The ones I've seen also use a splash guard and are a wind-up design using a release pin vs a motor. They all seem to work well on small parts with intricate features.
The commercial unit I used in my silver jewelry casting period was spring loaded. You would wind it up, set a lock pin and start to heat the metal. Then, when the silver was liquid, the mold was removed from the oven, set in place, all while keeping the silver under heat to insure liquidity. Once the mold was surely in place, the set pin was dropped and away it spun... Our melting the silver in the crucible on the machine instead of pouring liquid melted separately, I think made for our smooth, bubble free castings. I wonder if your metal is losing too much heat during the transfer, and coldness of your crucible and the time it seems to take your arm to spin up to speed. I’m not an expert, just a hobbyist as well. All that said, NICE WORK!
I have seen the spring loaded ones for jewelry. I went for a motor because the zinc/aluminium takes a long time time to cool and I could keep it spinning as long as I want with this set up. When I first used it for greensand moulds opening the mould after the same time i would allow for aluminium showed it still liquid.
@@myfordboy True, but I think in that case you were dealing with a much larger mass of metal enclosed in a much bigger mold and not being flung around to cool faster than just sitting. I've watched dental technicians cast crowns using investment casting. Their spring-wound centrifuges were anchored in concrete inside a 30-gallon metal trash can (very stable and very safe) and used the trip-pin device Jenn mentioned. They preheated both the mold and the horizontal crucible to high heat in an oven before placing them (with no fuss or fiddling) on the centrifuge arm and very quickly poured the metal and without so much as a heartbeat pulled the trip pin. No stopping to put anything down or other diversion. Because the whole setup was down about halfway in the trash can, they didn't even need to step out of the way. The spring mechanism was so tightly wound that the acceleration of the arm was almost frightening. Real instantaneous and very-fast rotation. Your electric motor, alas, came no where near the speed and acceleration of those spring-wound arms. At the very least, I bet that if you more thoroughly preheated the mold/crucible assembly, and rigged a switch or something at the centrifuge itself to minimize the delay in getting the motor started, results might be more predictable. On the other hand, a guy with your level of resourcefulness could build a heavy-duty, concrete-anchored, spring-wound centrifuge out of an old trash can and a coil spring made of steel strapping. That would make for a very cool (and very useful) video series. Cheers!
I was at a pewter casting shop, the molds were made of rubber about one inch think and about 14" in dia. two of them stacked, the disks were spinning before the pewter was poured in, they also took a knife and made cuts to the outside as vents
So cool! My brain is already ticking over ideas...I'm glad you stuck with it, seeing what doesn't work sometimes is just as useful as seeing what does!
Another method to help prevent bubbles is to use a vibrator after you mix the investment in the container, and the vibration will allow the bubbles to rise, then with the flask in your hand, resting on the vibrator hold the flask at an angle and slowly pour the investment in and let the level creep up around the model. Nice work experimenting with design. I also designed and built a centrifugal casting machine that eliminated the possibility of spilling the charge. It is pneumatically driven with an air cylinder pushing a roller chain to drive a sprocket on the shaft. 30 psi is like a hand pour, 80 psi is like a drop-kick. An accurate method of calculating how much metal you need is the displacement method. In a glass with enough water to submerge the model, mark the water level, remove the model and add the metal until the water level matches the mark you made. I cast silver and gold for many years, and like you, learned the hard way. I have a new word for you - autodidact, it means self educated. I prefer it to what I used to call myself... a high school drop out. Well done!
Thanks for the input. I have actually used the vibration method using an electric sander as the vibrator and it worked OK . I have also used the displacement method to estimate the amount of metal needed on sand moulds and will use it on this machine next time.
My dad was a dental lab technician. He had his lab in our basement. He did all of his casting using centrifugal methods. Although this system looks very similar, and works somewhat similarly, they still produce spring-loaded casting machines that work very well. Essentially, the user would "wind up" the mechanism and lift a metal pin to hold the spring-loaded arm, the red-hot burned out mold would be dropped into the cradle and the face-plate/crucible slid up against it. The metal (in this case, gold) was dropped into the crucible and quickly melted with a torch, then the arm was moved slightly to allow the retaining pin to drop free, and the arm was released. The spring provided a LOT of acceleration, and the machine would free-wheel for quite some time. Search eBay for "Centrifugal Casting Machine"
Very interesting! My former neighbor is a jewelry artist and I learned about casting from her using a similar system. the spinner was spring wound! Thanks for showing the smoke from the burnout too.
Hi David Your parts are looking good. To make things easier to get your parts out, you could split the stainless tube and put a couple hose clamps around the half's to hold it together, A foot switch would speed up activation of your motor. Not sure if it's taking to long to get up to speed? These parts are certainly a big step up from when you started. Love the engineering and also great camera work. Cheers Willy
I am happy with the process I have now. Getting the investment out is not a problem it dissolves in water. Splitting it would mean it would have to be sealed up when the investment was poured. The zinc/ aluminium stays liquid a lot longer than aluminium, and i can switch the motor on pretty quick!
Experimental trials are never failures, as long as you learn things in the process. I learned a lot just watching, without even having to chance flinging molten metal around my yard or workshop!
Well done! The one we made at college (over 50yrs ago) was spring loaded. Metal was melted in the crucible and a flux was added before spinning. I wonder if Borax would help to narrow the eutectic point of this alloy? I seem to remember that the zinc 'burns off' very quickly if overheated leaving an alloy of which can give mixed results. A guard was added - a dustbin lid with a wide band welded to it - to catch any molten metal sprayed around. Tin hats and goggles - happy days. Chris
I wonder if the initial speed of the motor might not be an issue. The commercial casting units are spring driven and they really whip the mold around when triggered and then it sort of slows down on its own. The motor is slower to start while the metal is at its hottest. The whole process is really fast. Pour and trigger-boom! With your set up there is a few seconds of lag time that might allow the relatively small amount of metal to begin cooling before it gets slammed into the mold.
yes, once you cut a peice out of furnature , the furnature becomes old and broke. done it my self, or accidentaly brake it, as you have need of its parts.
That's really cool. Wonder if a foot switch would be useful? pour the metal and kick the switch on with your toe then you could take your time to set the hot hot pot down
Interesting to say the least totally unaware of this process in the cast world, we see why it is used and that makes sense though we also should share other then watching you and others cast aluminum, brass and bronze we have not needed to do this work in our shop as of yet. Funny how the one try that worked also used too much material. Thank you for the share, Lance & Patrick.
I've worked as jeweler . only some tips to make better results next time ( I don't wwant to offend your works that is very beatiful) and the result is not perfect because : -1- the investiment need to be passed into vacuum to eliminate the air bubble near the plastic pieces ( and is for this fact that the pieces are full or balls and imperfect) -2- the commercial centrifugal casting system using a spring so the metal is push immediately ( with the motor you put is slow at the start and take speed progressivly)and is better melt the metal in the casting crucible if next time consider these tips the result will be perfect THUMBS UP YOUR VIDEOS ARE AWESOME!!! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 YOU ARE GREAT !
A very very long time ago I did an art jewelry course in prep for metalwork teaching - Lost wax rings in Sterling. Our machine was clockwork windup and installed in a large gal. wash tub with lid. One guy found a large dead blowfly (Aust.) on the window sill and cast with sprue into a flask, Result was a Sterling blowfly complete with veined wings and legs.
Traditional units use a spring and a hinged wist to fling the metal into the mold. If you want to stick with the motor try spinning up a flywheel then transfer the knee tic energy to the casting arm with a stiff clutch. Just thinking. Nice work.
I always thought it was the corrosion resistance for the use of stainless steel crucibles. Now I'm wondering if it's partly to hold the heat. For a metal, stainless is a lousy thermal conductor, so might help keep the mold hotter longer, so everything flows better. Great video...but spinning molten metal would scare the crap out of me.
Creo que el tiempo desde que se vierte el metal hasta que es encendido el motor es determinante para un buen resultado. Se me ocurre que con un pedal de pie acortarias ese tiempo. Perserverante tu trabajo...me recueda lo que decian de Edison al inventar la bombilla..."Edisón hizo 1000 maneras de como NO había que hacer una bombilla, hasta que consiguió que una funcionase" El fracaso forma parte del aprendizaje. Un saludo amigo
I bet this fellow has quite a junk drawer of old bits of metal that he uses for his projects. Quite ingenious to be able to make so many tools, fixtures, etc. from stuff he has sitting around!
The one I did in the early 80s was more like a potter's wheel. The part was on the outside of the wheel and the filling spruce was in the centre, which you filled when it was spinning. I had a shield around the outside, but it's probably a bit too dangerous.
Nice post again. looks like you have an organized mess of a shop too. Just noticing the sudo clutter on your bench. Better than mine though!! I might build this. I bought a 3D printer awhile back and almost have the forge set up again after the shop move. Printing is pretty fun after your last hair is finished off lol
why not build a round cup where you can arrange the pieces radially around the shaft? then have a feeder in the center where you can pour the molten metal while it's spinning. doesn't have to be as big as your contraption, you can use higher rpm instead. should also help with the balancing.
clever. Dont know what I am talking about, but could you place a sprue into the side of your mold, so your mold is ready in the centrifugal setup and you pour in from the top/side?
You mentioned that the angle of the mld contributed to the failure .. but if u look back at the spinning apparatus at 6:15 you will see that the center hole (that holds the shaft of the motor) Wobbles as the arm is spun. This cause the whole thing to shake. no matter how balanced the arm is. Could be other reasons but looked like a bent shaft or a hole that was drilled at an angle.
That hole is not centred but the one underneath that fits the motor shaft is. There is no wobble. The first tries were shaking because the workmate was on uneven ground.
Nice build but looks like it should swing much faster upfront, not time to cool. Then if it is just pewter or led perhaps not a big deal the point is if it works.
How about the base-tech approach: just swing it around a few times on a piece of chain. Gotta say these videos are really inspiring and have improved my setup no end. Thanks for posting, keep them coming!
One hint to try. if it is Aluminum, put hot coal then insert mold, possibly a prefilled mold with Aluminum powder. Rotate it fast by hand, it melts and then slow down the rotation.
Wskazane jest użycie pompy próżniowej podczas wylewania formy gipsowej. Pozwoli to usunąć bąbelki powietrza. Trochę za dużo czasu upływa od chwili zalania formy płynnym metalem do rozpoczęcia pracy silnika - potrzebna druga osoba albo wyłącznik uruchamiany stopą. Mała objętość odlewu wymusza użycie małej ilości płynnego metalu, który bardzo szybko stygnie. Spróbuj może powiększyć centralny kanał formy, tak żeby zwiększyć ilość zalewanego materiału co pozwoli wydłużyć trochę czas, w którym jest płynny. Powodzenia :)
If those are decoration couldn't you use pewter or tin to make them? You could use mold max 60 to form it and pour the metal right in the mold. Just curious
I made dental castings for years. For best results melt metal in the crucibel with a torch. Hold the torch on the melted metal while taking the mold out of the furnace then cast. use plenty of sprues and scrape back side of mold to help gasses escape. great project. check out vids on lost wax casting
now we know why the original centrifugal casting has the articulated harm,thats for the metal not spit out when start rotation process,this way metal enter direct to mold. You made a good copy of the system but I sugest a protection wall around this machine.The locomotive is amazing art object.
You made the spinner arm on the motor nice and long (about a foot and a half) so the wind created by the spinning would be great enough to cool the metal faster than you wanted.
Why is soap used to prevent bubbles? Does it prevent airpockets? does it fill pours of what you want to cast or does it allow for better contact between the investment and what you want to cast?
Hey amazing work. Can I ask if there is any sort of special fastener you used to attach the machined block to the motor ? I don't know about machining and stuff so I'm trying to learn the basics first.
Wouldn't it be best to start the rotation as fast as possible after pouring? Maybe a floor switch you step on with your foot as soon as your hands are clear.
You need to heat the metal in the crucible on the broken-arm caster so that the metal is still at casting temperature when the caster is turned on. Mount the casting machine inside a metal 55 gal drum, set the hot investment flask in the casting machine, melt the metal, turn on the caster, then remove the torch. It helps to paint the invested parts with green liquid paint-on pre-investment and then to invest with real refractory investment, not plaster.
Would you maybe consider using a vacuum instead of the centrifuge check out vegoilguy on youtube he has pretty good results with his homemade cheap vacuum setup . hope you have a good day sir love your videos , greetings from germany
This is very dangerous without some kind of shroud around the machine to catch a flask blowout or excess metal in the crucible escaping around the flask. I knew a man who worked in a casting shop in Los Angeles in the sixties where several men were killed when a flask blew out. Me, bench jeweler for over forty years. Good luck!
Nice job, my suggestion is more attention to the burning cycle of the plaster. use plaster for jewelers, follow the instructions regarding time and temperature appropriate to the metal alloy. Regards!
If you attached a counterweight on the other end of your rod you would eliminate the vibration and reach greater speed on your "centrifuge" . ... Your current setup is going to have a lot of wear and will fail earlier than needs be without balancing that load.
BOM DIA! MY ENGLISH IS VERY BAD...SO... caro amigo, a sua centrifuga necessita de um braço articulado... como nas centrifugas utilizadas por tecnicos em protese dental, esta articulação, trabalhando junto com a mola da centrifuga (nao o motor!) permite que, ao liberar a mola, o metal derretido seja imediatamente empurrado para o interior do molde. por falar em molde, pode parecer que não..., mas ele precisa estar pelo menos com a mesma temperatura de fundição da liga de metal utilizada...! assim, seria interessante aquecer o molde (o tubo de aço com o PLA dentro!) para que este ficasse com a temperatura proxima ou acima da temperatura da liga fundida! a centrifuga de mola, a mais utilizada pelos proteticos, teria feito o seu trabalho com maior facilidade e perfeição, pois ela conjuga estes dois movimentos, quais sejam, o empurrão imediato do metal fundido para dentro do molde, e a sua matunenção lá, enquanto o metal solidifica! a força centrifuga atua nesta manuteção!espero ter ajudado! edu aires.
@@myfordboy For those of us who want to try and get started esp with the new 3d filaments for forging, It would be great if you put together a basic kit of things to get / what you recommend with links
I was given the oven, I would not buy one for this purpose but make something up from an oven element and ceramic wool insulation. I put links to the products I use in the description below the video.
I think the first two machines would have worked if the time between pouring and turning wasnt so long. small amount of molten aluminium loses temperature as it leaves the furnace. plus the environment temperature is very important. the larger the gradient the faster molten aluminium cools down.sharing my thoughts .nice work.
Thank for the suggestion. Cooling metal is not the problem though. I am using and aluminium /zinc alloy and it cools very slowly. In fact I have had it spinning for 5-10 minutes and when the machine was stopped it was still liquid and ran out of the mould!
*myfordboy* I second the foot switch idea *builtrodewreckedit* commented about, a very good idea. I have a foot switch extension cord I got for $5 on Amazon, it's a very useful tool for projects.
Molten metal spinning at a high rate of speed on a wobbly base. What could possibly go wrong...? ;) I hope you're wearing all your stylish protective gear!
I have no problem with people building their own machines, I've built many myself. But that has been my profession as a prototype tool & die maker. But it is missing a shield around the centrifuge mechanism to prevent someone getting sprayed with molten metal if there is a failure in the system. That is why all commercial machines have enclosed mechanisms. And with rookie makers in a a hurry and lookinbg for a cheap way of doing things and no mechanical skills there are always failures. Molten metal burns are always painful at the very least, potentially catastrophic at the worst. SAFETY FIRST FOLKS! When you build something yourself, always look to find out what the commercial versions use and why!!
Wow! This is a really cool hack. Well done! May I ask where the refractory reservoir on machine 3 came from, please? Did you cast it from investment plaster yourself?
1/20.3 ("F scale") and 15mm/ft are both used on 45mm track for 3-foot narrow gauge models; *16mm/ft (~1/19 scale) on 32mm track* represents 2-foot narrow gauge prototypes. Seems to be popular with live steam aficionados... and well supported with Peco SM32 track and many manufacturers and organizations. www.16mm.org.uk/resources/useful-links/ ...good luck resisting the temptations!
@@myfordboy And how did you get it? it's a special item that is not found so easily, and i am interested to replicate something like you've shown, as my castings fail because of the size
What fascinates me as much as the engineering is the effort that's put into the filming! Not only are you 'playing with fire ' but you are showing us - with multi camera shots - what's happening! I can appreciate both disciplines (from previous experience) and can only bow in acknowledgement 👏
Never ever give up. Well done, nice video.
I have also seen a vacuum setup where the burnt out mould sits over a vacuum plate. Metal is poured into the mould as normal and the vacuum switch on. The vacuum works through the porosity of the investment plaster and atmospheric pressure pushes the metal into the mould. Effectively removing gasses from the cavity. Works pretty well I have heard.
All of these vids are great. No talking no music, straight to the point. Shows the prep and the results.
Excellent to watch.
You are a real treasure. Whenever I look up some crazy idea of think of DIYing something again for some casting project it is ALWAYS YOU! I swear you have done it all.
Allthough I know all about Centrifugal forces, and know it cant go anywhere but into the mold. The idea of hot spinning metal scares the crap out of me!!
Especially with the first two setup... Even the third still scares me
Commercial machines have a splash guard, it could easily be made from a steel drum.
Yeah, what could possibly go wrong? lol
The ones I've seen also use a splash guard and are a wind-up design using a release pin vs a motor. They all seem to work well on small parts with intricate features.
The commercial unit I used in my silver jewelry casting period was spring loaded. You would wind it up, set a lock pin and start to heat the metal. Then, when the silver was liquid, the mold was removed from the oven, set in place, all while keeping the silver under heat to insure liquidity. Once the mold was surely in place, the set pin was dropped and away it spun...
Our melting the silver in the crucible on the machine instead of pouring liquid melted separately, I think made for our smooth, bubble free castings. I wonder if your metal is losing too much heat during the transfer, and coldness of your crucible and the time it seems to take your arm to spin up to speed.
I’m not an expert, just a hobbyist as well.
All that said, NICE WORK!
I have seen the spring loaded ones for jewelry. I went for a motor because the zinc/aluminium takes a long time time to cool and I could keep it spinning as long as I want with this set up.
When I first used it for greensand moulds opening the mould after the same time i would allow for aluminium showed it still liquid.
@@myfordboy True, but I think in that case you were dealing with a much larger mass of metal enclosed in a much bigger mold and not being flung around to cool faster than just sitting.
I've watched dental technicians cast crowns using investment casting. Their spring-wound centrifuges were anchored in concrete inside a 30-gallon metal trash can (very stable and very safe) and used the trip-pin device Jenn mentioned. They preheated both the mold and the horizontal crucible to high heat in an oven before placing them (with no fuss or fiddling) on the centrifuge arm and very quickly poured the metal and without so much as a heartbeat pulled the trip pin. No stopping to put anything down or other diversion. Because the whole setup was down about halfway in the trash can, they didn't even need to step out of the way.
The spring mechanism was so tightly wound that the acceleration of the arm was almost frightening. Real instantaneous and very-fast rotation. Your electric motor, alas, came no where near the speed and acceleration of those spring-wound arms.
At the very least, I bet that if you more thoroughly preheated the mold/crucible assembly, and rigged a switch or something at the centrifuge itself to minimize the delay in getting the motor started, results might be more predictable. On the other hand, a guy with your level of resourcefulness could build a heavy-duty, concrete-anchored, spring-wound centrifuge out of an old trash can and a coil spring made of steel strapping. That would make for a very cool (and very useful) video series. Cheers!
I was at a pewter casting shop, the molds were made of rubber about one inch think and about 14" in dia. two of them stacked, the disks were spinning before the pewter was poured in, they also took a knife and made cuts to the outside as vents
You are definitely a relentless and a perfectionistically driven individual. And a credit to British engineering and know-how.
So cool! My brain is already ticking over ideas...I'm glad you stuck with it, seeing what doesn't work sometimes is just as useful as seeing what does!
Another method to help prevent bubbles is to use a vibrator after you mix the investment in the container, and the vibration will allow the bubbles to rise, then with the flask in your hand, resting on the vibrator hold the flask at an angle and slowly pour the investment in and let the level creep up around the model.
Nice work experimenting with design. I also designed and built a centrifugal casting machine that eliminated the possibility of spilling the charge. It is pneumatically driven with an air cylinder pushing a roller chain to drive a sprocket on the shaft. 30 psi is like a hand pour, 80 psi is like a drop-kick.
An accurate method of calculating how much metal you need is the displacement method. In a glass with enough water to submerge the model, mark the water level, remove the model and add the metal until the water level matches the mark you made.
I cast silver and gold for many years, and like you, learned the hard way. I have a new word for you - autodidact, it means self educated. I prefer it to what I used to call myself... a high school drop out.
Well done!
Thanks for the input. I have actually used the vibration method using an electric sander as the vibrator and it worked OK .
I have also used the displacement method to estimate the amount of metal needed on sand moulds and will use it on this machine next time.
So if at first you don't succeed don't give up ! Very informative and congratulations on a successful out come .
I'm sure that I've seen one made from a spin dryer.
My dad was a dental lab technician. He had his lab in our basement. He did all of his casting using centrifugal methods. Although this system looks very similar, and works somewhat similarly, they still produce spring-loaded casting machines that work very well. Essentially, the user would "wind up" the mechanism and lift a metal pin to hold the spring-loaded arm, the red-hot burned out mold would be dropped into the cradle and the face-plate/crucible slid up against it. The metal (in this case, gold) was dropped into the crucible and quickly melted with a torch, then the arm was moved slightly to allow the retaining pin to drop free, and the arm was released. The spring provided a LOT of acceleration, and the machine would free-wheel for quite some time. Search eBay for "Centrifugal Casting Machine"
Very interesting! My former neighbor is a jewelry artist and I learned about casting from her using a similar system. the spinner was spring wound! Thanks for showing the smoke from the burnout too.
Hi David
Your parts are looking good. To make things easier to get your parts out, you could split the stainless tube and put a couple hose clamps around the half's to hold it together, A foot switch would speed up activation of your motor. Not sure if it's taking to long to get up to speed? These parts are certainly a big step up from when you started. Love the engineering and also great camera work.
Cheers
Willy
I am happy with the process I have now. Getting the investment out is not a problem it dissolves in water. Splitting it would mean it would have to be sealed up when the investment was poured.
The zinc/ aluminium stays liquid a lot longer than aluminium, and i can switch the motor on pretty quick!
Experimental trials are never failures, as long as you learn things in the process. I learned a lot just watching, without even having to chance flinging molten metal around my yard or workshop!
Super interesting. Thanks for sharing all the prototypes. No doubt the "professional" ones went through the same trial and error process. Cheers! : )
Well done! The one we made at college (over 50yrs ago) was spring loaded. Metal was melted in the crucible and a flux was added before spinning.
I wonder if Borax would help to narrow the eutectic point of this alloy? I seem to remember that the zinc 'burns off' very quickly if overheated leaving an alloy of which can give mixed results. A guard was added - a dustbin lid with a wide band welded to it - to catch any molten metal sprayed around. Tin hats and goggles - happy days.
Chris
Смотрю именно потому, что человек всегда доводит всё до конца, бьётся с неудачами и всё таки побеждает.
I wonder if the initial speed of the motor might not be an issue. The commercial casting units are spring driven and they really whip the mold around when triggered and then it sort of slows down on its own. The motor is slower to start while the metal is at its hottest. The whole process is really fast. Pour and trigger-boom! With your set up there is a few seconds of lag time that might allow the relatively small amount of metal to begin cooling before it gets slammed into the mold.
I love the way you use any old stuff you seem to have laying about, if it suits your needs you use it
yes, once you cut a peice out of furnature , the furnature becomes old and broke. done it my self, or accidentaly brake it, as you have need of its parts.
With your skill I'm surprised that you didn't make real springs. Thanks for showing us your hard work. Big fan!!
That's really cool. Wonder if a foot switch would be useful? pour the metal and kick the switch on with your toe then you could take your time to set the hot hot pot down
That's a great idea
Your v3 machine looked much better balanced than the previous iterations. Nice work, and great result!
Interesting to say the least totally unaware of this process in the cast world, we see why it is used and that makes sense though we also should share other then watching you and others cast aluminum, brass and bronze we have not needed to do this work in our shop as of yet.
Funny how the one try that worked also used too much material.
Thank you for the share, Lance & Patrick.
I've worked as jeweler .
only some tips to make better results next time ( I don't wwant to offend your works that is very beatiful)
and the result is not perfect because :
-1- the investiment need to be passed into vacuum to eliminate the air bubble near the plastic pieces ( and is for this fact that the pieces are full or balls and imperfect)
-2- the commercial centrifugal casting system using a spring so the metal is push immediately ( with the motor you put is slow at the start and take speed progressivly)and is better melt the metal in the casting crucible
if next time consider these tips the result will be perfect
THUMBS UP YOUR VIDEOS ARE AWESOME!!! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
YOU ARE GREAT !
I don't do foundrywork at all, I just enjoy watching your talent at work!
A very very long time ago I did an art jewelry course in prep for metalwork teaching - Lost wax rings in Sterling. Our machine was clockwork windup and installed in a large gal. wash tub with lid. One guy found a large dead blowfly (Aust.) on the window sill and cast with sprue into a flask, Result was a Sterling blowfly complete with veined wings and legs.
My my, that was not for the faint hearted, nor for anyone lacking in determination. Great result and clever use of technology. Further inspired!
*myfordboy* centrifugal casting is used on high end jewelry making, they usually use wax casting but could save alot of time with your method.
Traditional units use a spring and a hinged wist to fling the metal into the mold. If you want to stick with the motor try spinning up a flywheel then transfer the knee tic energy to the casting arm with a stiff clutch. Just thinking. Nice work.
Kinetic energy
Yes, the slow start speed of the motor is the design fail, you are right a bent arm spring machine is absolutely the way to go for investment casting.
I always thought it was the corrosion resistance for the use of stainless steel crucibles. Now I'm wondering if it's partly to hold the heat. For a metal, stainless is a lousy thermal conductor, so might help keep the mold hotter longer, so everything flows better. Great video...but spinning molten metal would scare the crap out of me.
Creo que el tiempo desde que se vierte el metal hasta que es encendido el motor es determinante para un buen resultado. Se me ocurre que con un pedal de pie acortarias ese tiempo. Perserverante tu trabajo...me recueda lo que decian de Edison al inventar la bombilla..."Edisón hizo 1000 maneras de como NO había que hacer una bombilla, hasta que consiguió que una funcionase" El fracaso forma parte del aprendizaje. Un saludo amigo
I bet this fellow has quite a junk drawer of old bits of metal that he uses for his projects. Quite ingenious to be able to make so many tools, fixtures, etc. from stuff he has sitting around!
The one I did in the early 80s was more like a potter's wheel. The part was on the outside of the wheel and the filling spruce was in the centre, which you filled when it was spinning. I had a shield around the outside, but it's probably a bit too dangerous.
Thanks for sharing the genesis of your machines. I know I will be building something like this soon, so what you have done will be a great help.
More development to come, keep watching.
Nice post again. looks like you have an organized mess of a shop too. Just noticing the sudo clutter on your bench. Better than mine though!! I might build this. I bought a 3D printer awhile back and almost have the forge set up again after the shop move. Printing is pretty fun after your last hair is finished off lol
Да, заразительная настойчивость. Очень классная работа
Удивительно, что первые два образца не сработали.
why not build a round cup where you can arrange the pieces radially around the shaft? then have a feeder in the center where you can pour the molten metal while it's spinning. doesn't have to be as big as your contraption, you can use higher rpm instead. should also help with the balancing.
That might be a good idea! I don't know if it will work though
Would spinning vertical work better? Least easier to fill. & could maybe try with water first to make sure it all stays in in the first rotation
I am satisfied with the tool now it gives the results i wanted.Just need to to check how much metal is needed before spinning.
The first two were metal spreading shrapnel machines😁
Hola no se si en los comentarios está, pero debías dejar un como de entrada del material más amplio.
Me encanta el ensayo y error
clever. Dont know what I am talking about, but could you place a sprue into the side of your mold, so your mold is ready in the centrifugal setup and you pour in from the top/side?
You mentioned that the angle of the mld contributed to the failure .. but if u look back at the spinning apparatus at 6:15 you will see that the center hole (that holds the shaft of the motor) Wobbles as the arm is spun. This cause the whole thing to shake. no matter how balanced the arm is. Could be other reasons but looked like a bent shaft or a hole that was drilled at an angle.
That hole is not centred but the one underneath that fits the motor shaft is. There is no wobble.
The first tries were shaking because the workmate was on uneven ground.
Nice build but looks like it should swing much faster upfront, not time to cool. Then if it is just pewter or led perhaps not a big deal the point is if it works.
How about the base-tech approach: just swing it around a few times on a piece of chain.
Gotta say these videos are really inspiring and have improved my setup no end. Thanks for posting, keep them coming!
One hint to try. if it is Aluminum, put hot coal then insert mold, possibly a prefilled mold with Aluminum powder. Rotate it fast by hand, it melts and then slow down the rotation.
ideally you need to preheat your mould and melt your metal in the casting crucible
You're taking too long to spin.....As soon as the metal enters start the spin. Maybe a footswitch would help. Uncle Will
Wskazane jest użycie pompy próżniowej podczas wylewania formy gipsowej. Pozwoli to usunąć bąbelki powietrza. Trochę za dużo czasu upływa od chwili zalania formy płynnym metalem do rozpoczęcia pracy silnika - potrzebna druga osoba albo wyłącznik uruchamiany stopą. Mała objętość odlewu wymusza użycie małej ilości płynnego metalu, który bardzo szybko stygnie. Spróbuj może powiększyć centralny kanał formy, tak żeby zwiększyć ilość zalewanego materiału co pozwoli wydłużyć trochę czas, w którym jest płynny.
Powodzenia :)
Thanks for your experience. It was interesting to see your lathe skill. Then, you struggle with a hand saw. What happened to a band saw?
If those are decoration couldn't you use pewter or tin to make them? You could use mold max 60 to form it and pour the metal right in the mold. Just curious
I made dental castings for years. For best results melt metal in the crucibel with a torch. Hold the torch on the melted metal while taking the mold out of the furnace then cast. use plenty of sprues and scrape back side of mold to help gasses escape. great project. check out vids on lost wax casting
Ok, I've been waiting to see someone try spin casting.
Good show.
now we know why the original centrifugal casting has the articulated harm,thats for the metal not spit out when start rotation process,this way metal enter direct to mold. You made a good copy of the system but I sugest a protection wall around this machine.The locomotive is amazing art object.
This was proof of concept. Now fully enclosed.
Excellent! Very useful to see trials and design evolution.
You made the spinner arm on the motor nice and long (about a foot and a half) so the wind created by the spinning would be great enough to cool the metal faster than you wanted.
Why is soap used to prevent bubbles? Does it prevent airpockets? does it fill pours of what you want to cast or does it allow for better contact between the investment and what you want to cast?
The idea is it "wets" the part and the plaster adheres better, like putting flux on a metal part.
Hey amazing work. Can I ask if there is any sort of special fastener you used to attach the machined block to the motor ? I don't know about machining and stuff so I'm trying to learn the basics first.
A taped hole in the block has a set screw into the shaft.
@@myfordboy thanks so much for helping
Wouldn't it be best to start the rotation as fast as possible after pouring? Maybe a floor switch you step on with your foot as soon as your hands are clear.
oh yeah.. let's spin around a can full of hot molten metal 🤣 !! what could go wrong😂 love it!
did you ever try, casting in vacuum chamber??, it's worth to try.
No not tried that. Getting good results with this method.
You need to heat the metal in the crucible on the broken-arm caster so that the metal is still at casting temperature when the caster is turned on. Mount the casting machine inside a metal 55 gal drum, set the hot investment flask in the casting machine, melt the metal, turn on the caster, then remove the torch. It helps to paint the invested parts with green liquid paint-on pre-investment and then to invest with real refractory investment, not plaster.
Would you maybe consider using a vacuum instead of the centrifuge
check out vegoilguy on youtube he has pretty good results with his homemade cheap vacuum setup .
hope you have a good day sir love your videos , greetings from germany
Also I think vegoilguy uses different metal (bronzal with about 15% of aluminium), looks like it's more liquidly.
This is very dangerous without some kind of shroud around the machine to catch a flask blowout or excess metal in the crucible escaping around the flask. I knew a man who worked in a casting shop in Los Angeles in the sixties where several men were killed when a flask blew out. Me, bench jeweler for over forty years. Good luck!
Nice job, my suggestion is more attention to the burning cycle of the plaster. use plaster for jewelers, follow the instructions regarding time and temperature appropriate to the metal alloy.
Regards!
Great video. Shows the trials and errors it takes to do great work!
If you attached a counterweight on the other end of your rod you would eliminate the vibration and reach greater speed on your "centrifuge" . ... Your current setup is going to have a lot of wear and will fail earlier than needs be without balancing that load.
Posted before watching whole video. Figure you got around to doing just that. :)
I think you spin it slowly first and increasing the speed,,,,but the metal cools with slow speed.
The amazing things you can do keep up the fantastic work and video's
You spin me round like a record, boy!
BOM DIA! MY ENGLISH IS VERY BAD...SO... caro amigo, a sua centrifuga necessita de um braço articulado... como nas centrifugas utilizadas por tecnicos em protese dental, esta articulação, trabalhando junto com a mola da centrifuga (nao o motor!) permite que, ao liberar a mola, o metal derretido seja imediatamente empurrado para o interior do molde. por falar em molde, pode parecer que não..., mas ele precisa estar pelo menos com a mesma temperatura de fundição da liga de metal utilizada...! assim, seria interessante aquecer o molde (o tubo de aço com o PLA dentro!) para que este ficasse com a temperatura proxima ou acima da temperatura da liga fundida! a centrifuga de mola, a mais utilizada pelos proteticos, teria feito o seu trabalho com maior facilidade e perfeição, pois ela conjuga estes dois movimentos, quais sejam, o empurrão imediato do metal fundido para dentro do molde, e a sua matunenção lá, enquanto o metal solidifica! a força centrifuga atua nesta manuteção!espero ter ajudado! edu aires.
Nice progression with eventual nice results. I'm assuming the crucible was ceramic and purchased or was it home made and plaster?
It was bought.
It's good to see the use of a saw over the angle grinder to cut metal. I think that grinder disk dust is probably quite unhealthy.
Hey man, use a counterweight to balance that rough vibration :)
Edit: nvrmnd.. you used at the end, nice video.
There is soo much to learn in your video, thank you for sharing...all the best in further projects
Nice one Stig
Interesting.... I'll stick to my spring-powered centrifugal caster.
great job man , No fail just learning ! .. ENJOYED
Hey! This is the first video of your's I've watched. You now have a new subscriber! Cheers :o)
i love that you keep trying. What is the kiln is it on amazon? and have you tried magnetic induction instead of gas to melt metal?
Kiln Is an Efco. I'll stick to gas.
@@myfordboy For those of us who want to try and get started esp with the new 3d filaments for forging, It would be great if you put together a basic kit of things to get / what you recommend with links
I was given the oven, I would not buy one for this purpose but make something up from an oven element and ceramic wool insulation. I put links to the products I use in the description below the video.
I think the first two machines would have worked if the time between pouring and turning wasnt so long. small amount of molten aluminium loses temperature as it leaves the furnace. plus the environment temperature is very important. the larger the gradient the faster molten aluminium cools down.sharing my thoughts .nice work.
Thank for the suggestion. Cooling metal is not the problem though. I am using and aluminium /zinc alloy and it cools very slowly. In fact I have had it spinning for 5-10 minutes and when the machine was stopped it was still liquid and ran out of the mould!
@@myfordboy got it. thanks. didnt know about that alloy 🙂
*myfordboy* I second the foot switch idea *builtrodewreckedit* commented about, a very good idea. I have a foot switch extension cord I got for $5 on Amazon, it's a very useful tool for projects.
Molten metal spinning at a high rate of speed on a wobbly base. What could possibly go wrong...? ;) I hope you're wearing all your stylish protective gear!
большое спасибо за Ваше творчество оно вдохновляет
I have no problem with people building their own machines, I've built many myself. But that has been my profession as a prototype tool & die maker. But it is missing a shield around the centrifuge mechanism to prevent someone getting sprayed with molten metal if there is a failure in the system. That is why all commercial machines have enclosed mechanisms. And with rookie makers in a a hurry and lookinbg for a cheap way of doing things and no mechanical skills there are always failures. Molten metal burns are always painful at the very least, potentially catastrophic at the worst. SAFETY FIRST FOLKS! When you build something yourself, always look to find out what the commercial versions use and why!!
Wow! This is a really cool hack. Well done! May I ask where the refractory reservoir on machine 3 came from, please? Did you cast it from investment plaster yourself?
It's a commercial crucible for centrifugal casting. Came from AliExpress.
@@myfordboy Thanks for the info.
Crucible www.aliexpress.com/item/Dental-Lab-4-Casting-Quartz-Crucible-Hooded-Brand/1991839175.html?spm=a2g0s.12269583.0.0.5752fd0e0LZKWu
Plaster www.artisanfoundry.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=29&products_id=330
This is very useful video,thank you very much
Excellent, patience, well done
Отличная работа!
The lack of swear words in this is impressive. More patience than I have for sure!
very good job
Your good, thanks for the video!
I wonder if this will make the casting denser?
You mean removing occlusions and porosity?
@@jonanderson5137 yes
Have you tried to use vacuum?
0:06 - 16mm locomotive? What dimension of it 16mm refers to?
Scale is 16mm to the foot. Runs on 32mm gauge track.
Interesting. Thanks for sharing !
Если долго мучиться-
что-нибудь получиться
Super!
This is a "jella" or "jolla".... want to build that one.... but i have only plans in 5".... i need Gauge "G" (45mm)
1/20.3 ("F scale") and 15mm/ft are both used on 45mm track for 3-foot narrow gauge models; *16mm/ft (~1/19 scale) on 32mm track* represents 2-foot narrow gauge prototypes. Seems to be popular with live steam aficionados... and well supported with Peco SM32 track and many manufacturers and organizations.
www.16mm.org.uk/resources/useful-links/
...good luck resisting the temptations!
32mmm plans here www.16mm.org.uk/resources/drawings/locomotives/
Whats the "centrifugal crucible"? plain investment plaster?
It's made of a ceramic material.
@@myfordboy And how did you get it? it's a special item that is not found so easily, and i am interested to replicate something like you've shown, as my castings fail because of the size
@@MrZhefish Go to Aliexpress and search for dental crucible.
Thank you
buen video. muy didactico
Lots of work to get it right, but then the dividends pay off, nice work MFB!